Springer’s Retreat On The Rivers

[kpnut]

There’s a very nice azalea at the secret garden - a yellow one, azalea luteum. It has a gorgeous scent. 

[Broads01]

Re reversing out, I like the idea of a line holding the bow, I'll try that. Yes Kate, I have rudder hard in to the quay and then short bursts of forward throttle kicks the stern out. Even so it can be a challenge in windy conditions. It's one of the situations bow thrusters come in to their own when you have them because they can make a forward exit a piece of cake. 

[Karizma]

9 hours ago, kpnut said:

Bearing in mind, I’m on my own so have no one to be on the bow keeping a rope slung round a mooring post for a while. 

I think you are very brave cruising solo in less than ideal conditions - being pinned to the quay by the wind when trying to set off is challenging at the best of times when I have a 'more than able' crew mate to help (thanks Tracy xxx), doing it solo, without a 'cheat button' (aka - bow thruster, and I have one and use it all the time!) - good for you. 

Another good 'party trick' is using the bow thruster to push you away from the quay whilst having full rudder to push the stern out away from the quay - then apply a little forward throttle - when done right you crab out side-ways away from the quay !!!!!

[YnysMon]

5 hours ago, grendel said:

having tried getting out forward only on a few occasions (usually if I am at the end of the quay heading that allows that), i dont find it that effective,

That threw me for a while when we had our first trip on Water Rail. If we are taking off into the tide on Moonlight Shadow I don’t have any problem, but then we do have a bow thruster, not that I always use it.I suppose it’s just a case of getting to know how your boat handles, they all have their quirks.

[kpnut]

Springer’s Retreat does have a bow thruster but I can’t remember ever using it when leaving a mooring.
The main thing I use it for is kicking the bow back in if it drifts out while I’m mooring up so I can get off. 

And when turning to get into my tight little mooring space.

[kpnut]

At last the pressure seems to be rising. 
The marker dial is set at the lowest low it got to during storm Babet or the one that followed a few days later. 
 

And the sun is shining this morning; hopefully set for a nice day. 

[Mouldy]

58 minutes ago, kpnut said:

At last the pressure seems to be rising. 
The marker dial is set at the lowest low it got to during storm Babet or the one that followed a few days later. 
 

And the sun is shining this morning; hopefully set for a nice day. 

Would be nice.  Might be a bit soon to get too excited.  The forecast shows it to be breezy (15 - 20mph) for most of next week mainly from the west, although northwesterly at times, which won’t help river levels to recede.

Theyve been known to get it wrong.  Let’s hope that it is this time.

[kpnut]

I know Mouldy. I’m only thinking as far as the rest of the day!

[Broads01]

15 hours ago, Karizma said:

Another good 'party trick' is using the bow thruster to push you away from the quay whilst having full rudder to push the stern out away from the quay - then apply a little forward throttle - when done right you crab out side-ways away from the quay !!!!

Like it! Do you have the rudder turned hard in to the quay, I.e. opposite direction to the bow thruster?

[Mouldy]

3 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

Like it! Do you have the rudder turned hard in to the quay, I.e. opposite direction to the bow thruster?

Yes, that’s the idea.  Turn the rudder to steer the bow into the quay to kick the stern out and use the opposite bow thruster to push the bow out.  I’ve done that before on Moonlight Shadow.

No such luxuries on Norfolk Lady - no girly buttons on there!  I’ve just learnt to use the tide or wind to my advantage where I can, or swear a lot if I can’t! 

[Bikertov]

37 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

Yes, that’s the idea.  Turn the rudder to steer the bow into the quay to kick the stern out and use the opposite bow thruster to push the bow out.  I’ve done that before on Moonlight Shadow.

No such luxuries on Norfolk Lady - no girly buttons on there!  I’ve just learnt to use the tide or wind to my advantage where I can, or swear a lot if I can’t! 

Very useful to know this, and I must try it, as I have the advantage of "girly buttons" on A Frayed Knot 

[kpnut]

I left Irstead in the manner of Grendel’s rope idea on the bow.   Yep, I can do that when I need to. 
And the bow thruster idea, I’ll try that next week. Just for the fun of it. 

I filled with fuel at Sutton staithe, then hoped to get through Wayford Bridge for a night up at Dilham. What was I thinking? 6’2” on the board at more or less low tide. Oh well, I moored at the bridge for breakfast before pottering down to Stalham. 

I’ve found a very good use of those weird mirrored windows at Hunsett Mill. I was able to look through the dead reed and leafless trees to the house and saw a boat coming towards me, their reflection in the mirror. I couldn’t see the boat for another minute as I came round the corner. So it’s a pre warning system😂

This was taken after the boat had passed me.
The property is nearly marooned with flooded fields all round. They have a new water feature. The pumping station pump plus a pump draining the fields were going full pelt. I wonder how many gallons an hour that is. 

And in the space of less than 5 minutes on my way back down to the junction, I saw two herons, one kingfisher and one otter. Not a bad haul.

I went round to Kingfisher quay  to avail of the excellent pump out service, filling with water while waiting as the flow is faster than my hose reel. The main reception quay at Richardsons does give a nice holiday vibe in the sunshine.

And moored up on my home mooring; the end of an eagerly awaited trip. Finlay was straight into the car and has been snoozing in there all afternoon. He’ll have to be back in the boat soon for his tea!

It’s certainly blowing up a good breeze again now, no let up yet!

Back next week with Tony for a southern trip. Making up for lost time. 

[YnysMon]

10 minutes ago, kpnut said:

I’ve found a very good use of those weird mirrored windows at Hunsett Mill. I was able to look through the dead reed and leafless trees to the house and saw a boat coming towards me,

That’s a good tip Kate.

We had a beautifully sunny morning here, but it turned nasty again (rain and wind…will it never let up!) by lunchtime. Typical ‘fine before 7, rain by 11’ weather.

[kpnut]

Thursday 18th April

We arrived onboard sometime after 11am, with full carload of two dogs.

I’d prepared the boat ready for the off last week, so after a trip to do the food shopping and one or two social catchings-up, we departed before 1pm. Too late to use low tide through Great Yarmouth so I was only aiming for somewhere on the Bure. Pretty mooring or practical mooring?

I pondered fleet dyke, boundary farm and either end of Upton dyke, but settled for the electric post (with £1.90 credit - result!) at Acle bridge. Keeping Tony warm and comfy is a major consideration early on in this trip. He’s had the tube heater on in the cabin all night and could put the little ceramic heater on for a blast if he needs to get up in the night. 
After a couple of nights, it’s getting warmer at night, so my idea is to set in his head that he’s been warm and snug!

Today we’re meant to across Breydon late afternoon. The jury is still slightly out on this as the forecast keeps changing. Was plus 40mph wind just for this afternoon, then it changed to that round 3pm only, now changed again to longer. I’ll give the yacht station a ring, but expect we’ll ‘brave it’. If not, it’ll be tomorrow pm instead as I have no intention of a dawn raid down south tomorrow morning  

I’ll be interested to hear about Tony’s night’s sleep as it’s been quite noisy with bow slap and Charlie dog always potters about in the night, jumping on and off the sofa, walking up and down the corridor to sniff under the cabin doors, unlike Finlay who stretches out on the sofa and that’s that till I appear next morning. 
If necessary, I might wander up to the chemist in Acle this morning and see if they’ve got any earplugs to sell him. 

Charlie was straight out into the front well when we set off, he always likes to watch what’s outside. In contrast Finlay never goes out there, it’s difficult to entice him out when moored up and his food bowl is put out there. It’s wierd how totally different characters they have. They are brothers (Charlie being older by two years). 

[kpnut]

Goodness me, what a day!

It started off very sedately as, knowing low tide slack was around 15.30, depending on which tables/ranger info were used, we had the morning to use at Acle. 

A quick check with the yacht station confirmed the windy day with gusts up to 40mph or so, just around low tide. An earlier passage would be less bumpy, but see me running against the tide across Breydon, so I plumped for my original plan of a ‘choppy sea’ but with the tide.

After getting rained on in a sharp shower while walking to Acle to buy earplugs for Tony, we moved down to a sunny Stracey Arms for a lunch stop. 

We set off at 14.15 with an eta at Great Yarmouth of 15.45. I’m pleased to say I was totally spot on with that timing. 

I was looking forward to showing Tony just how narrow and shallow the channel gets as the tide goes out. By the time I got to Ashtree Farm I was puzzling as to why the water seemed high, I remember saying ‘it must be quite a high low tide’. 
The quay heading by Ashtree Farm windpump seemed barely visible and we mused whether it was an indication of the increased river levels this winter, as when the heading was built it would have been high enough for a high tide, but we were on low. 

Carrying on a bit puzzled, I checked Project Troll sometime before Marina Quays and I got the most unsettling shock. Vauxhall Bridge was showing ‘6’8”. What? It was meant to be not long after low tide!!!!!

I very hastily rang the yacht station again to ask for advice re: mooring up and after asking where I was, he said I might just get through, though it’d be a tad choppy on Breydon. 
The instruction was to ring again as I turned the corner to the yacht station and he’d assess the room I’d have. 
I have no idea what speed I then did down to the yacht station but it was faster than I’ve ever been on Springer’s Retreat😂
The first gauge actually said 6’8” and the second just by the yacht station said a bit less. I’d just about go through Wroxham at what they both said, but that’s not on a fast river with a surface changing by a couple of inches every few seconds with the wind and with a very fast rising water level and me still a few minutes away!

The ranger assured me I’d be ok, so we gave each other a thumbs up and I braved it. I opened the sunroof, although I can’t see my roof rails through it, and I must say I got to know the roof of the second bridge rather closely. 
He was right, just about!!!

I rang to thank him once I was through. All that was left was to get across Breydon. The wind had certainly not dropped yet and we rolled our way across. Tony felt a bit sick at one point, the dogs took no notice and I just held onto the wheel, wondering whether I’d break any crockery. 

Not a trip I’ll repeat in a hurry. It was the getting under the bridges that fazed me more than the crossing, although I’m not really sure it was sensible to have been there. It’s easy to see how an ok decision can easily turn into a not ok decision 

The ranger told me that the tide had turned nearly two hours earlier than expected and I do think my original timings were fine if the tide had behaved as published.
And according to the project troll graphs, low tide this afternoon was just about the same level as high water yesterday. Next time, I’ll keep a better eye on those graphs from Acle downwards. It was a real shock to realise the chance of getting through those bridges was rather small. 

I had resigned myself to mooring up at GY to be honest and perhaps I should have done. Lesson learned, but we’ve had a good adventure, even if my heart has had a bit of a workout!

As soon as we passed Burgh Castle, you’d never have known just how rough it had been on Breydon. We motored on in calm conditions with the aweigh app speed saying 6mph but on only 1100 revs, what I usually use for 4mph on the Ant.
The plan of an overnight mooring at Somerleyton changed as I approached St Olaves. Nothing to do with the bridge height this time, I had plenty of room, but it’s a mooring I’ve never stopped at before and I fancied a look round St Olaves priory. Well worth a visit. 

Follow the concrete path from the moorings to the main road by the bridge. Cross over to the Bell Inn as there’s no path on the side you need. Turn left and walk up as far as Priory Rd,  and follow the footpath sign down between the hedge and the fenced field (had alpacas in it) to the site. About a 10 minute walk. It’s free entry by the way and you can take dogs on leads.  
We would have gone in the Bell on the way back, but stupidly had no money with us. 

Last job of the night after putting the dogs out was retying the ropes for a bit more leeway. 

[YnysMon]

Gosh Kate. What an adventure! At least you got through safely. Hopefully it will be more calm and more reasonable river levels coming back.

I was wondering if you planning to be up north at all next week? Don’t reply here… I’ll send a pm. 

[SwanR]

Hope you have a more peaceful night and a lovely weekend on the southern side. 

[Broads01]

Those rangers know their stuff, don't they? I guess they've seen Horizon 35s pass through on enough occasions to know very accurately what clearance was needed. I'm amazed the tide can turn 2 hours earlier than expected. 

[ExSurveyor]

There is a flood warning on the Yare for tonight and tomorrow.

[kpnut]

7 hours ago, Broads01 said:

I'm amazed the tide can turn 2 hours earlier than expected

So was I.
In hindsight, perhaps he said ‘two hours ago’, which would have been about an hour early. The aweigh app graph certainly shows it rising again well before the published time. 

Good night apart from a creaking fender. 

Something I thought about while listening to that fender was my old fuel tank. When it was replaced, I was told it had about 40L of crud in the bottom, presumably accumulated in over 40 years of its life. That would have been given a good shake up. it’s no wonder boats break down with engine trouble on Breydon. The more I think about my decision yesterday, the more I’m deciding it was the wrong one. And that means the less the chance of me doing something stupid like that again!!!!!

 

[Vaughan]

12 minutes ago, kpnut said:

The more I think about my decision yesterday, the more I’m deciding it was the wrong one. And that means the less the chance of me doing something stupid like that again!!!!!

I wouldn't say that was stupid.  You researched the tides and you kept very good contact with the rangers, who I am sure would have recommended not going across if they thought it was too rough.  All the same, Breydon can be pretty "aggressive" at times!

What bothers me a bit, is what effect this is going to have on hire boats, if the tides are so far out of time and much higher than usual.

[kpnut]

Thanks Vaughan. I prefer ‘miscalculated’, makes me feel more competent😄

A number of hire boats passed me going up the Bure, which greatly surprised me. Perhaps they’d been in touch with the yacht station earlier and they’d advised coming across early. 
 

[kpnut]

29 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

you kept very good contact with the rangers, who I am sure would have recommended not going across if they thought it was too rough.

One thing I wondered was would the yacht station ranger have rung the Breydon ranger to say a boat was on its way across. The reason I ask us that as we got to the Yare/Waveney junction, the Spirit of Breydon was moored up and had his binoculars out on us. I was reassured he’d hopefully been keeping an eye on us. That ‘remote supervision’ I used to do with the kids on D of E expeditions. 

He might just have been having a tea break of course, and spotted a daft boat out on the water. 

[LizG]

I wouldn't say stupid at all - the question is if you had been on your own would you have made the same decision or would you not even have gone south anyway?

[MargeandParge]

Poor  Tony come for a relaxing cruise, were the ear plugs to make sure he couldn't hear you ask again . 

I think you did very well and I never thought that tides could rise so quickly. 

You got it as right as you could with the information you had certainly wouldn't like to have been in that situation myself. 

Well done to you and keeping in touch with The Rangers. It always reassures us when we see The Spirit of Breydon about. We are sure they do their best to keep an eye on all.

Take care and stay safe. 

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge